A Guide to the Curious Finds and Hidden Gems of Venice Beach

Venice Beach, once a grungy beach town on the margins of Los Angeles, is today a playground for glitterati sipping lavender vodkas and charcoal milk. But Venice still bears traces of bygone eras—encapsulated by names like Chaplin, Morrison, Dogtown, and Muscle Beach—and it’s this history and eccentricities that help define the area. With its surge in popularity and the gentrification of its main drag, Abbot Kinney Boulevard, it’s important to seek the parts of Venice that remain ever so slightly offbeat. Here, a guide:

Stay at a century-old party houseTobacco tycoon and Venice Beach founder Abbot Kinney designed this space one block from the Pacific Ocean in 1908 to be a West Coast mainstay for his East Coast cohorts, kicking off The Rose Hotel’s colorful history. Since then, the space has entertained many guests, from Charlie Chaplin to Jim Morrison to Dennis Hopper. In 2014, eminent photographers Doug Bruce and Glen Luchford bought and renovated The Rose Hotel, furnishing the space with mid-century modern furniture and photographs of surfers, skaters, and reggae artists from the ’70s and ’80s. “The building is tucked away on Rose Avenue, hidden from sight from the Venice boardwalk,” Bruce said. “This is a Chateau Marmont crowd at the beach. But we also have a great mix of different people. Those who stay in the $800-per-night suite and those in the original bedrooms with shared bathrooms all come together at breakfast over the best croissants in Los Angeles.”

Practice yoga to live violins or electric guitarModo Yoga L.A. will launch its Venice studio in September 2017, where yogis can take classes to live tunes. Arcade Fire band members Richard Reed Parry and Sarah Neufeld, who are partners in the studio, will pop in for occasional performances. “The music is there to support the best practice possible,” said Deena Robertson, a Modo cofounder. “We try to offer something for everyone: From the person who wants to dive deep into a live sound bath, to the person who wants to sweat in a flow class to a Drake soundtrack, to the person who wants a no-music class—because how often do we get silence?”

Drink breakfast at midnight at a rock ’n‘ roll barAt Nighthawk: Breakfast Bar, nostalgia is the theme. Inspired by musicians who performed on Sunset Boulevard in the ’80s and ’90s, then ate late-night diner breakfasts after shows, Nighthawk owner Jeremy Fall modernized breakfast and added a twist. “I wanted to create a vibe people can relate to by taking things from our childhood and elevating them,” Fall said. “We’re doing breakfast at nighttime in a carb-conscious city and serving alcohol. We offer booze with breakfast and add hip-hop.” Known for its spiked cereal milk cocktails where they drain cereal milk overnight then spike it, the bar’s signature cocktails are the Cinnamon Toast Crunch and spiced rum, Honey Nut Cheerios and bourbon, and Cocoa Puffs and vanilla vodka. Former Spago chef Greg Schroeppel designed the breakfast menu and everything, from the gravy to the biscuits, is made from scratch.

Stop and smell the rare flowersSpencer Falls parks his vintage Volkswagen van outside popular Venice hangouts to sell rare, robust flowers arranged in “unruly and beautiful” bouquets. Raised on a New Zealand orchard, Falls said he never expected flowers to become a career, but The Unlikely Florist took off and he’s been having fun with bunches of South African Proteas, Australian Banksias, and local farmers’ flowers ever since. Falls launched The Unlikely Florist’s headquarters at 715 Hampton Drive, a 2,000-square-foot art warehouse space, available by appointment only for arrangements of all shapes and sizes.

Sip libations underground at Venice’s oldest barEstablished in 1915, The Del Monte was a basement-level speakeasy during Prohibition and served notorious characters using a streel-level grocery store as a cover. Today, tipplers must walk through local bar The Townhouse, then descend the stairs to find the dark, lively Del Monte, which offers handcrafted cocktails and live music (five to seven nights per week).

Savor a slice of Salad PizzaLocal favorite Abbot’s Pizza Company has served some of the West Coast’s best pizza for over 20 years. Tucked into a small, lively space on Abbot Kinney Boulevard, one of Abbot’s signature pies is the Salad Pizza, where a cheesy onion crust is topped with a thick layer of fresh salad, lemon olive oil dressing, and California avocados. Abbot’s offers other creative spins, such as the Chicken Curry and the Greek, where customers can choose from five different bagel crusts.

Sleep at a loft turned hotel above an upscale bedding storeThe folks who run bedding store Parachute Home recently launched Parachute Hotel, a discreetly located 2,200-square-foot penthouse with an outdoor terrace, full kitchen, and master bedroom with sheets from, of course, Parachute Home. The lofty space on Rose Avenue accommodates a group of 30 people for a special event, or a couple looking to relax and cook at home some nights while on holiday.

Host a “mighty mocktail” partyFormer celebrity chef Matthew Stockard launched Ganja Eats in 2015 to cater private cannabis-infused dinner parties. “The idea is to teach people how to imbibe the proper amount of cannabis so they don’t get sick or eat too much,” said Stockard. “We specialize in cannabis infused cuisine and we make everything we can from scratch.” Stockard also offers private cannabis mocktail how-to parties to high-end clientele.